Version: 1.0Updated on: October 12th, 2026
Icecat delivers product content in several ways. This manual gives you a short overview of each, explains when we recommend which, and links to the detailed manual for each channel. Read it before you start building, so that you choose the integration that fits your shop, your team, and your catalog.
Choose in two steps: first, how you want to receive the content, then how you find out which products to fetch.
Product JSON, Product XML, Icecat Live HTML and Product CSV work one product at a time. An index tells you which products exist, which ones changed, and where to fetch them.
Icecat MCP needs no index: your AI agent asks for a product when it needs it. The PCF needs none either: it already covers your whole matched product catalog.
Product JSON, Product XML, Icecat Live HTML, the PCF and the Product CSV all deliver product content, but in different shapes. Icecat MCP delivers the same content too, through a connection to your AI agent. The PIF and the XML Index Files deliver no content themselves: they point to the XML data sheets.
Product JSON and Product XML carry the same product content, in different formats. PCF and Product CSV have the same structure, so they carry the same content.
In short:
The same complete data sheet in JSON. You can request the whole data sheet or only selected sections, for example, only the gallery.
We recommend it for modern web applications, and when you need only part of a data sheet. Not for you if you want all languages of your subscription in one data sheet. JSON has no INT data sheet; use Product XML for that.
INT
→ Manual for Channel Partners: Icecat Product JSON
The complete data sheet of one product in XML, requested by Icecat product ID, by brand + product code, or by GTIN. It is the most complete source of Icecat content. The INT data sheet combines all languages of your subscription in one file.
We recommend it for a webshop or PIM that keeps its own copy of the content and needs full structure: specifications with IDs and units, related products, galleries with all image details. Not for you if you cannot process one request per product.
→ Manual for Channel Partners: Icecat Product XML
A JavaScript snippet on your product page. When a shopper opens the page, the Icecat data sheet loads and is displayed. You store nothing.
We recommend it for a fast launch, or when you do not want to maintain a product content database. Not for you if your own search, filters or product comparison need the content, because your shop does not hold it.
→ Manual for Channel Partners: Icecat Live HTML
Connects your AI assistant or agent to Icecat, so it can read product content in real time, one product at a time: specifications, descriptions, gallery, reasons to buy, related products and more.
We recommend it for AI shopping assistants, chatbots and internal AI tools. An AI agent can also use Icecat MCP to fetch content into your own systems, for example, to enrich a few products on request. Not for you if you need rule-based automation that imports content into your own database at scale. An AI agent fetches one product at a time and works much slower than a script. Use Product JSON or Product XML for that, driven by the PIF or the XML Index Files.
→ Manual for Channel Partners: Icecat MCP for Your AI Agent (example Claude Desktop App)
The content of your matched products in one CSV file per language, one row per product: titles, descriptions, specifications, image and document links, reasons to buy, and bullet points. It is a Product CSV for your whole product list.
We recommend it when your team works in spreadsheets, or your PIM or webshop imports CSV but not XML or JSON. Not for you if you need related products, reviews, feature logos, warranty information or structured specifications for filters. Use XML or JSON instead (see section 4).
→ Manual for Channel and Brand Partners: Personal Catalog File (PCF)
The content of one product in a single table row, with the same columns as the PCF. You request it by Icecat product ID, by brand + product code, or by GTIN.
We recommend it when you need one product at a time in the same format as your PCF, for example, to add a new product between two PCF updates. Not for you if you need many products: use the PCF.
→ Manual for Channel Partners: Icecat Product CSV
Lists of products in the whole Icecat catalog, with a link to each data sheet: all products, products changed in the last 24 hours, or products currently on the market.
We recommend it when you want to mirror the full catalog or find products you don’t sell yet. Not for you if you only need your own products. Then you would have to match your assortment against the full catalog yourself, and you must process the daily index every day to avoid missing changes. The PIF does both for you.
→ Manual for Channel Partners: XML Index Files
A CSV list of the products from your own product file that Icecat matched. Each row has the Icecat identifiers, a link to the data sheet in every language of your subscription, and the date the product content last changed. You don’t have to match products yourself, and you can check for changes on your schedule without missing any.
We recommend it when you have a defined catalog and want to drive an import of XML or JSON data sheets, or to monitor your coverage. Not for you if you need the content itself in a file (use the PCF).
→ Manual for Channel Partners: Personal Index File (PIF)
The detailed steps for the PIF combinations are in the Manual for Channel Partners: Personal Index File (PIF), section 8.
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